Publication: The construction of the woman writer of postwar USA : autonomy, identity and creativity in the works of Anaïs Nin, Carson McCullers and Sylvia Plath
Authors
Rodríguez Pintado, Irene
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Escuela Internacional de Doctorado
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Suárez, Juan A.
Publisher
Universidad de Murcia
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DOI
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info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis
Description
Abstract
Durante las décadas de 1960 y 1970, la segunda ola del feminismo dio origen a la Teoría Literaria Feminista, centrada en recuperar la contribución de las mujeres a la literatura y analizar la relación entre identidad de género y creación literaria. Teóricas como Sandra Gilbert, Susan Gubar y Elaine Showalter elaboraron un cuerpo crítico sobre la literatura femenina. Sin embargo, el estudio de la configuración de la identidad de la mujer escritora todavía presenta lagunas. Autoras como Anaïs Nin, Carson McCullers y Sylvia Plath muestran un feminismo preexistente en la posguerra estadounidense, evidenciando la tensión entre la feminidad doméstica y creatividad, que estaba vinculada a la masculinidad.
Estas escritoras desarrollaron procesos de autoconfiguración y exploración de la subjetividad como instrumentos centrales en su escritura autobiográfica. Junto a otras autoras del periodo no incluidas en este proyecto, como Anne Sexton, Elizabeth Bishop o Judith Malina, investigaron el yo y su relación con la creatividad. La accesibilidad a los archivos de Nin, McCullers y Plath las convierte así en representantes de una subcultura femenina de la posguerra.
El objetivo de la tesis es analizar la autoconfiguración de la escritora como respuesta a la división cultural entre feminidad y creatividad, identificando una subcultura protofeminista en la literatura estadounidense de posguerra. La investigación se estructura en cinco capítulos: contexto sociopolítico, métodos de autoconfiguración y estudios de caso sobre Nin, McCullers y Plath.
El primer capítulo examina la construcción de la feminidad normativa de la posguerra, basada en una reinterpretación freudiana del ideal femenino doméstico. Se analiza cómo leyes, medios de comunicación y ciencias sociales redirigieron a las mujeres al hogar, imponiendo estándares de comportamiento y presentación. Este marco condiciona la autoconfiguración, producción artística y estética de las autoras.
El segundo capítulo estudia los procesos de autocreación accesibles: escritura íntima y autobiográfica, y presentación estética. Enmarcadas en la Life Writing, Nin, McCullers y Plath construyeron narrativas de vida a través de diarios, correspondencia y ficción, reformulando creatividad, identidad y autonomía. La construcción del estilo personal y la imagen pública, incluyendo vestimenta y comportamiento, funciona como forma de resistencia frente a las restricciones de género.
Los capítulos tres, cuatro y cinco presentan estudios de caso. El capítulo dedicado a Nin se centra en su lucha por la autonomía, en el uso del diario como herramienta para llevar a cabo su autoconfiguración y alcanzar autonomía, y en la vestimenta como instrumento para la construcción de la identidad. El capítulo sobre McCullers examina su uso de la autoficción para explorar la identidad y la autonomía, así como su estilo andrógino y bohemio como forma de subversión de la feminidad convencional. Finalmente, el capítulo sobre Plath analiza la fragmentación de la identidad de la autora entre mujer y creadora en sus diarios, cartas y su única novela, La campana de cristal. Asimismo, se enfoca en cómo Plath empleó la autoconstrucción de la imagen como medio de autoconfiguración.
La tesis concluye que Nin, McCullers y Plath constituyen una subcultura femenina de la literatura de posguerra que desarrolla un pensamiento protofeminista. La combinación de escritura y construcción de la imagen revela un proceso deliberado de autocreación, que permite ejercer control sobre identidad y creatividad. La autoconfiguración se confirma así como un recurso esencial para la mujer escritora de posguerra, desafiando las imposiciones de género y su exclusión en las esferas literarias.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the second wave of feminism gave rise to Feminist Literary Theory, which focused on recovering women's contributions to literature and analyzing the relationship between gender identity and literary creativity. Theorists such as Sandra Gilbert, Susan Gubar, and Elaine Showalter developed a critical body of work on women's literature. However, the formation of the female writer's identity remains underexplored. Authors such as Anaïs Nin, Carson McCullers, and Sylvia Plath exhibit a preexisting postwar American feminism, revealing the tension between domestic femininity and masculine conceptions of creativity. These writers developed processes of self-fashioning and explorations of subjectivity as central instruments in their autobiographical writing. Alongside other contemporary authors, such as Anne Sexton, Elizabeth Bishop, and Judith Malina, they investigated the self and its relationship to creativity. Nin, McCullers, and Plath were selected for this study as representatives of a postwar female subculture due to the accessibility of their archives. The objective of this dissertation is to analyze the self-fashioning of the female writer as a response to the cultural division between femininity and creativity, identifying a proto-feminist subculture in postwar American literature. The study is organized into five chapters: sociopolitical context, means of self-fashioning, and case studies on Nin, McCullers, and Plath. The first chapter examines the construction of postwar normative femininity, grounded in a Freudian reinterpretation of the domestic ideal. It analyzes how legislation, media, and social sciences redirected women to the home, imposing standards of behavior and presentation. This framework shaped the self-fashioning, artistic production, and personal styles of these authors. The second chapter explores accessible processes of self-creation: intimate and autobiographical writing, and aesthetic self-presentation. Situated within Life Writing, Nin, McCullers, and Plath construct life narratives through diaries, correspondence, and fiction, reconceptualizing creativity, identity, and autonomy. Furthermore, their construction of a personal style and public image, including clothing and behavior, functioned as forms of resistance against gender restrictions. Chapters three, four, and five present case studies. Nin's chapter focuses on her struggle for autonomy, her use of the diary as a tool for agency and self-fashioning, and clothing as an instrument to construct identity. McCullers' chapter explores her use of autofiction to examine identity and agency, as well as her androgynous, bohemian style as a subversion of conventional femininity. Finally, Plath's chapter explores the author's identity fragmentation between woman and artist in her diaries, letters, and her only novel, The Bell Jar. It also focuses on how Plath employed self-presentation as a means of self-fashioning. The dissertation concludes that Nin, McCullers, and Plath constitute a female subculture in postwar literature that develops a proto-feminist consciousness. The combination of writing and image construction reveals a deliberate process of self-creation, enabling the authors to exercise control over their identity and creativity. Self-fashioning is thus confirmed as an essential resource for the postwar female writer, as it helped challenge gendered impositions and literary exclusion.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the second wave of feminism gave rise to Feminist Literary Theory, which focused on recovering women's contributions to literature and analyzing the relationship between gender identity and literary creativity. Theorists such as Sandra Gilbert, Susan Gubar, and Elaine Showalter developed a critical body of work on women's literature. However, the formation of the female writer's identity remains underexplored. Authors such as Anaïs Nin, Carson McCullers, and Sylvia Plath exhibit a preexisting postwar American feminism, revealing the tension between domestic femininity and masculine conceptions of creativity. These writers developed processes of self-fashioning and explorations of subjectivity as central instruments in their autobiographical writing. Alongside other contemporary authors, such as Anne Sexton, Elizabeth Bishop, and Judith Malina, they investigated the self and its relationship to creativity. Nin, McCullers, and Plath were selected for this study as representatives of a postwar female subculture due to the accessibility of their archives. The objective of this dissertation is to analyze the self-fashioning of the female writer as a response to the cultural division between femininity and creativity, identifying a proto-feminist subculture in postwar American literature. The study is organized into five chapters: sociopolitical context, means of self-fashioning, and case studies on Nin, McCullers, and Plath. The first chapter examines the construction of postwar normative femininity, grounded in a Freudian reinterpretation of the domestic ideal. It analyzes how legislation, media, and social sciences redirected women to the home, imposing standards of behavior and presentation. This framework shaped the self-fashioning, artistic production, and personal styles of these authors. The second chapter explores accessible processes of self-creation: intimate and autobiographical writing, and aesthetic self-presentation. Situated within Life Writing, Nin, McCullers, and Plath construct life narratives through diaries, correspondence, and fiction, reconceptualizing creativity, identity, and autonomy. Furthermore, their construction of a personal style and public image, including clothing and behavior, functioned as forms of resistance against gender restrictions. Chapters three, four, and five present case studies. Nin's chapter focuses on her struggle for autonomy, her use of the diary as a tool for agency and self-fashioning, and clothing as an instrument to construct identity. McCullers' chapter explores her use of autofiction to examine identity and agency, as well as her androgynous, bohemian style as a subversion of conventional femininity. Finally, Plath's chapter explores the author's identity fragmentation between woman and artist in her diaries, letters, and her only novel, The Bell Jar. It also focuses on how Plath employed self-presentation as a means of self-fashioning. The dissertation concludes that Nin, McCullers, and Plath constitute a female subculture in postwar literature that develops a proto-feminist consciousness. The combination of writing and image construction reveals a deliberate process of self-creation, enabling the authors to exercise control over their identity and creativity. Self-fashioning is thus confirmed as an essential resource for the postwar female writer, as it helped challenge gendered impositions and literary exclusion.
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